A conventional fire alarm system which is installed in a building has numerous fire alarm pull switches situated throughout the building for actuating the fire alarm system. There are two common types of fire alarm pull switches. One common type is produced by the Edwards Company, Massachusetts, U.S.A., and the other is produced by the Simplex Corporation, U.S.A. These types of switches are briefly described hereafter.
A front elevational view of the Edwards fire alarm pull switch is illustrated in FIG. 1A and is generally denoted by reference numeral 11. As shown in FIG. 1A, the Edwards fire alarm pull switch 11 has a cover 12 which protrudes slightly outwardly from a wall in a convex configuration. The cover 12 has an inwardly protruding cavity 13. A rectangular-shaped pull lever 14 is disposed in front of the cavity 13 and is slightly curved inwardly near its top end 14a (best shown in FIG. 6). The pull lever 14 is mounted with a hinge so that it can be pivoted outwardly and downwardly in order to actuate the fire alarm pull switch 11. The cavity 13 enables the fingers of a person to be placed behind the pull lever 14 to facilitate movement of the lever 14. Moreover, the cover 14 of the switch 11 is hinged at its lower end 12b so that the cover 12 can be moved outwardly and downwardly from the wall, while pivoting about the end 12b, so that the internal mechanism of the fire alarm pull switch 11 is exposed and so that the switch 11 can be reset after the pull lever 14 has been pulled.
The Simplex fire alarm pull switch is illustrated in FIG. 1B and generally denoted by reference numeral 21. As shown in FIG. 1B, the Simplex fire alarm pull switch 21 also comprises a cover 22 which is hinged at an end 22b for pivoting the cover 22 outwardly and downwardly from the wall about a bottom end 22b. Further, the Simplex fire alarm pull switch 21 has a cavity 23 and a T-shaped pull lever 24 disposed in front of the cavity 23, which is hinged at an end 24b so that the T-shaped pull lever 24 can be pivoted outwardly about the end 24b.
Current United States law, specifically, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, requires that fire alarm pull switches, including those shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, must be located below the maximum reach range of 48 inches or below 54 inches, if there is a guarantee of clear floor space, so that persons with a handicap can operate such switches. Moreover, there are millions of alarm pull switches in the United States which do not meet the height requirements and therefore must be moved.
However, moving an alarm pull switch to accommodate the height requirements would usually require splicing the fire alarm wires, but splicing such wires is prohibited by municipal fire and electrical codes as well as other laws. Accordingly, a fresh run of wire from the switch to the main fire alarm console is typically required in order to move a switch. Such a requirement can result in the use of miles of wire in large commercial and public complexes and, hence, a huge expense.